A framework encloses a stepper motor, mounting structure, and circuitry for use in calibrating the responses of utility locators or the precise frequency outputs of locating transmitters, and associated tilt, directional, angle, and gradient sensors. The framework contains two Helmholtz or similar field windings embedded in its sides to achieve maximum accuracy in calibration of locating instruments, such that a locator may be precisely situated within the uniform field of the windings for calibration measurement or testing. calibration and testing may be done manually or by automated means.
|
11. A calibration system for a portable locator, comprising:
means for supporting a portable locator;
means for generating an electromagnetic field around the locator; and
means for enabling a plurality of field strength samples to be extracted from the locator representing different angular and/or vertical positional relationships of the locator and the electromagnetic field.
1. A calibration system for a portable locator, comprising:
a frame for supporting a locator;
a pair of coil windings mounted on the frame for generating a substantially symmetrical electromagnetic field surrounding the locator when supported on the frame when the coil windings are energized with a predetermined signal generated by a transmitter;
a drive assembly for rotating the locator; and
an interface that enables a computer to sample field strength signals from the locator at different rotational positions of the locator.
20. A locator calibration system, comprising:
a frame that supports a portable locator;
at least one coil that generates an electromagnetic field around the locator when a suitable signal is applied to the coil;
a motor assembly capable of rotating the locator;
a sensor that outputs a signal representative of a rotational position of the locator relative to the magnetic field; and
a computer interface that enables a computer to sample a plurality of field strength samples from the locator at each of a plurality of different rotational positions of the locator, calculate at least one corrective value, and upload the corrective value to the locator to calibrate the locator.
2. A calibration system for a portable locator, comprising:
a frame for supporting a locator;
a pair of coil windings mounted on the frame for generating a symmetrical electromagnetic field surrounding the locator when supported on the frame when the coil windings are energized with a predetermined signal generated by a transmitter;
a drive assembly for rotating the locator; and
an interface that enables a computer to sample field strength signals from the locator at different rotational positions of the locator;
wherein the system is configured so that the computer can control the rotation of the drive assembly and store position signals generated by the drive assembly corresponding to the sampled field strength signals.
3. The calibration system of
4. The calibration system of
5. The calibration system of
6. The calibration system of
8. The calibration system of
9. The calibration system of
12. The calibration system of
13. The calibration system of
15. The calibration system of
16. The calibration system of
17. The calibration system of
18. The calibration system of
19. The calibration system of
|
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of the similarly entitled U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/912,517 filed Apr. 18, 2007, of Mark S. Olsson et al., the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/103,971 filed Apr. 16, 2008, and is also a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/780,311 filed May 14, 2010, which was a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/243,191 filed Oct. 1, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,733,077, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/970,818 filed Jan. 8, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,443,154, which was a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/956,328 filed Oct. 1, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,336,078, which in turn claimed benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/508,723 filed Oct. 4, 2003.
The present invention relates to the technology of underground utility locating receivers and transmitters, and specifically to apparatus for calibrating such instruments for dependable field use.
For many years, utility locating receivers have been used to identify the location of buried pipes and cables underground. These receivers typically detect fields which are imposed onto pipes and cables using a dedicated transmitter at defined frequencies, by induction or direct connection. Locating receivers may also scan for passive signals generated in underground conductors by other sources than a locating transmitter, such as ambient broadcast energy, electrical current from generating plants, etc. The majority of locating instruments use electro-mechanical elements in their circuits, such as potentiometers, for example, which over time may shift out of calibration causing inaccuracies to creep into the locating process. More modern locating instruments may be tuned and calibrated through software only, but even these must be initially calibrated for accuracy in application and their calibration verified at intervals. Because of the potential cost and potential damage that may be incurred through inaccurate locating, precise calibration is critically important both in the manufacture of locating instruments and in their continued field use.
The present invention provides an improved system for achieving calibration of a locating receiver or a locating transmitter, or similar device, a system for data capture and storage in the calibrating process, and a system for minimizing distortion in the calibrating process that could be caused by uncontrolled environmental electromagnetic perturbations. It provides as well a system for calibrating the depth detection of a locating instrument and calibrating a locator with an embedded compass. The present invention also provides a system that performs a quick check on depth, signal strength, angle balance, alignment, and operation of gradient coils in a single manual operation.
One aspect of the preferred embodiment of this invention is the capability of centrally positioning an omnidirectional locator which uses gradient coil antennas in a controlled symmetrical field in order to calibrate the gradient coils.
Another aspect of the present invention is the rotation of a locator within a symmetrical and controlled electromagnetic field established by the Helmholtz windings, as a way of testing or calibrating the detections of the locator and the omnidirectional symmetry of the antenna nodes.
Another aspect of the present invention is the ability to control such a rotational process automatically from an associated computer which sends control signals to a rotary drive motor which controls the rotational motion of the locator during testing.
Another aspect of the present invention allows the rotary calibration to be performed without automation by a manual operator reading the locator screen in order to do a rapid field check and calibration of the locator.
Another aspect of the present invention is the ability to rigidly situate a locator along a vertical line perpendicular to the horizontal 4-fold symmetry axis of the field in such a way that it is slightly above the center of the field, with the result that the upper antenna node receives a lower signal strength than the lower antenna node. When this occurs under controlled conditions, with known values of distance, it enables an operator to calibrate the depth-reading capability of the locator based on the differences between the signal strengths received at the upper and lower antenna nodes.
Referring to
The top panel 106 is fitted with a support in the form of an upper clamp assembly 136 into which the vertical shaft of a portable locator 104 may be secured above a platform 130. The clamp assembly 136 includes a pivoting locking member 137.
By way of example, the locator 104 may be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,009,399 granted Mar. 7, 2006, for example, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The clamp assembly 136 includes a pivoting locking member 137. The locator support further includes a cup-like locator mount 116 that is fitted to the top end of shaft 118, into which mount the lower antenna node of the locator may be seated. Locator mount 116 is formed to accommodate the lower antenna node typical of omnidirectional antenna locators. The locator mount 116 is vertically adjustable by means of a threaded shaft fitted to a collar (not illustrated in this figure). In an alternative embodiment, the locator mount 116 may be configured to adjustably accept various locators of different form-factors. The locator mount 116 is coupled by a shaft 118 which passes through a hole in the platform 130, and which in turn is coupled through a housing 120 to a drive motor and rotary encoder assembly (not illustrated in this figure) mounted on the calibrator assembly flooring 123 beneath the platform 130.
Turning to
The housing 120 encloses the drive motor and rotary encoder assembly (not illustrated in
As illustrated in
In
In
It will be understood by one versed in the art relating to this invention that modifications in configuration or components may be possible to achieve related results, and that additional applications of the present invention may be conceived of to test or calibrate devices not specifically identified herein or using variations in routines.
The design of the coil windings (114 in
In an alternate embodiment, the locator mount 116 may be configured to accept different designs of locators and antennas without modification to the basic operation of the present invention. In another alternate embodiment, the present invention may be used to calibrate a compass unit which is part of a particular locator at the same time. The system may be used additionally in conjunction with one or more dipole sources or sondes for the purposes of calibration or testing at appropriate frequencies.
While we have described a preferred embodiment of our calibration system, modifications and variations thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the locator could be stationary and the Helmholtz windings could be moved around the locator.
Therefore, the protection afforded our invention should only be limited in accordance with the scope of the following claims.
Olsson, Mark S., Martin, Michael J., Coduti, Anthony L.
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
10434547, | Dec 15 2016 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device |
10712467, | Dec 07 2017 | CABLE DETECTION LIMITED | Underground utility line detection |
10760400, | Feb 08 2016 | Smart Drilling GmbH | Directional drilling device and method for calibrating same |
10761233, | Oct 24 2003 | SEESCAN, INC | Sondes and methods for use with buried line locator systems |
10883812, | Jan 19 2018 | NORTHERN DIGITAL, INC | Calibrating a magnetic transmitter |
10948278, | Jan 19 2018 | NORTHERN DIGITAL, INC | Calibrating a magnetic sensor |
11110495, | Dec 15 2016 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device |
11248982, | May 09 2018 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Hub connection for pipeline inspection device |
11397100, | Jul 06 2017 | MINMAXMEDICAL | Method for calibrating a magnetic locator |
11493318, | Jan 19 2018 | NORTHERN DIGITAL, INC | Calibrating a magnetic transmitter |
11604057, | Jan 19 2018 | NORTHERN DIGITAL, INC | Calibrating a magnetic transmitter |
11623254, | Dec 15 2016 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device |
11659142, | Feb 12 2020 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device with enhanced image control |
11892373, | May 09 2018 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Hub connection for pipeline inspection device |
12053807, | Dec 15 2016 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device |
12155973, | Feb 12 2020 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Pipeline inspection device with enhanced image control |
9411066, | Oct 04 2003 | SEESCAN, INC | Sondes and methods for use with buried line locator systems |
9703002, | Oct 04 2003 | SEESCAN, INC | Utility locator systems and methods |
D983469, | May 09 2019 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Hub for pipeline inspection device |
D988113, | May 09 2019 | Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation | Receptacle for pipeline inspection device |
ER7611, | |||
ER8772, |
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
4328552, | Jan 17 1980 | Statistical calibration system | |
5155442, | Mar 01 1991 | Merlin Technology, Inc | Position and orientation locator/monitor |
5337002, | Mar 01 1991 | Digital Control Incorporated | Locator device for continuously locating a dipole magnetic field transmitter and its method of operation |
5640092, | Sep 27 1990 | Electromagnetic pipe mapper for accurate location and depth determination | |
6084545, | Jul 12 1999 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Near-field calibration system for phase-array antennas |
6581480, | Apr 23 1998 | Abas, Incorporated | Magnetising arrangements for torque/force sensor |
7133793, | Jul 24 2003 | Synaptics (UK) Limited | Magnetic calibration array |
7154267, | Jan 07 2005 | Honeywell International, Inc.; Honeywell International Inc | Method and system for electronic compass calibration and verification |
7230980, | Sep 17 2001 | Humatics Corporation | Method and apparatus for impulse radio transceiver calibration |
7336078, | Oct 04 2003 | SEEK TECH, INC | Multi-sensor mapping omnidirectional sonde and line locators |
8248056, | Oct 09 2002 | SEESCAN, INC | Buried object locator system employing automated virtual depth event detection and signaling |
20040070399, | |||
20090256751, | |||
20090273339, |
Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jun 29 2010 | Seescan, Inc. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Mar 14 2011 | OLSSON, MARK S | SEEKTECH, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036481 | /0751 | |
Mar 16 2011 | MARTIN, MICHAEL J | SEEKTECH, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036481 | /0751 | |
Feb 24 2012 | CODUTI, ANTHONY L | SEEKTECH, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036481 | /0751 | |
Apr 29 2013 | SEEKTECH, INC | SEESCAN, INC | CHANGE OF NAME SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 036492 | /0151 |
Date | Maintenance Fee Events |
Jul 10 2017 | M2551: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 4th Yr, Small Entity. |
Jul 19 2021 | M2552: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 8th Yr, Small Entity. |
Jan 21 2025 | M2553: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 12th Yr, Small Entity. |
Date | Maintenance Schedule |
Jan 21 2017 | 4 years fee payment window open |
Jul 21 2017 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 21 2018 | patent expiry (for year 4) |
Jan 21 2020 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4) |
Jan 21 2021 | 8 years fee payment window open |
Jul 21 2021 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 21 2022 | patent expiry (for year 8) |
Jan 21 2024 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8) |
Jan 21 2025 | 12 years fee payment window open |
Jul 21 2025 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 21 2026 | patent expiry (for year 12) |
Jan 21 2028 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12) |